
















ALL OUR BOOKS & FILM FEATURES
- “Set small goals that stretch you a bit but are achievable.” – Author Ian Robertson talks about ‘How Confidence Works’ (4/24/2023)
- “Nothing was more important to Stalin than ideas.” – Author Geoffrey Roberts talks about ‘Stalin’s Library’ (4/24/2023)
- ‘Murray Pittock: Old Scotia’s Gradeur Springs’ (Book Festival, AUG 17th) (8/20/2022)
- “It would be useful to know what was in Æthelflæd’s mind when she was planning her campaigns against the Viking armies who had occupied eastern England.” – Author Tim Clarkson talks about ‘Lady of the Mercians’ (8/1/2022)
- “Charles Dickens was a big fan of coach travel. And as well as being a great storyteller he is the master at description. I’d love to mysteriously acquire a notebook he’d used to scribble down his thoughts as he hurtled northwards.” – Author Steve Silk talks about ‘The Great North Road’ (5/28/2022)
- “Boots planted firm, shield shoulder strong, weapon hand unflinching … and prayers already said.” – Author Michael Livingston talks about ‘Never Greater Slaughter: Brunanburh and the Birth of England’ (4/26/2022)
- “I think Napoleon planned his offensive against the Papacy like a military campaign. Manoeuvring, invasion, battle, victory, and capitulation were the set pattern of his triumphs.” – Author Ambrogio A. Caiani talks about ‘To Kidnap a Pope’ (1/17/2022)
- “I don’t think the CSA would have won independence had Breckinridge bene president. No one was going to make that happen given the determination of Lincoln and his people.” – Author William C. Davis talks about ‘An Honorable Defeat: The Last Days of the Confederate Government’ (10/18/2021)
- “During the early days of his pontificate I was fascinated, and supportive. Like many others I was caught up in the Francis effect.” – Author Philip Lawyer talks about ‘Lost Shepherd’ (6/18/2021)
- “If I had Oswald’s skull sitting on my desk, looking at me, Yorick-like, with its three-finger sword-slash cut, it would be a potent reminder that for all our romanticising of ancient times, these people could be pretty thuggish.” – Author Max Adams talks about ‘The King in the North’ (4/1/2021)
- “I wanted to show children that they should be open to those differences and celebrate them. It’s what makes us unique and special.” – Author Peter A. Johnson talks about ‘Bog: The Ogre In The Cellar’ (4/1/2021)
- “I am currently working on a follow up. But I can say no more than that at the moment.” – Author Paul Lay discusses ‘Providence Lost’ (3/23/2021)
- “How do you Quantitatively ease bitcoin?” – Author Dominic Frisby discusses Daylight Robbery: How Tax Shaped Our Past and Will Change Our Future (1/28/2021)
- “No way could I resist a day in the Library of Alexandria. I would go straight to the book, On the Ocean, written by Pytheas.” – Author Barry Cunliffe discusses The Scythians: Nomad Warriors of the Steppe (10/22/2020)
- “Sheep breeds are like vernacular buildings, each region has its own unique sheep with their own unique traits.” – Author Sally Coulthard discusses A Short History of the World According to Sheep (9/11/2020)
- “I don’t eat eel. That’s a principle. I don’t think you should hunt and eat endangered animals.” – Author Patrik Svensson discusses Ålevangeliet (9/8/2020)
- Has the body of Richard III been found? “Not proven.” – Author Michael Hicks discusses Richard III, The Self-Made King (8/31/2020)
- “There’s really no way in which an ancient society – possibly *especially* a very odd ancient Greek society such as Sparta’s – can teach us directly anything.” – Author Paul Cartledge discusses Thermopylae: The Battle That Changed the World (3/20/2020)
- “I’ve had a lot of unpleasant substances thrown at me in public for undermining the Bible.” – Author Irving Finkel discusses The Ark Before Noah (2/26/2020)
- “The absolutely primal nature of this religious idea was something I wanted to include at the very start of the saga, and have it endure all the way up to the dawn of Christianity, when Constantine decides that all amulets should be outlawed.” – Author Steven Saylor discusses his Roma trilogy (2/18/2020)
- “The world-historical significance of Martin Luther simply cannot be gainsaid.” – Author Richard Rex discusses The Making of Martin Luther (11/3/2019)
- “The best advice I got (and ignored) is grow garlic that’s suited to your climate.” – Author Robin Cherry discusses Garlic, an Edible Biography (9/10/2019)
- “Adolf Hitler is not dead. Echoes of his racism, anti-Semitism, and blinding nationalism are everywhere.” – Author James Longo discusses Hitler and the Habsburgs: The Fuhrer’s Vendetta Against the Austrian Royals (8/28/2019)
- “I liked the man.” – Author Niccolo Capponi discusses An Unlikely Prince: The Life and Times of Niccolo Machiavelli (7/11/2019)
- “His life offers a prism through which we can examine important threads in African history.” – Author Stuart Laing discusses Tippu Tip: Ivory, Slavery and Discovery in the Scramble for Africa (7/5/2019)
- EIFF: “Driven” (6/27/2019)
- EIFF: “The Art of Self-Defense” (6/27/2019)
- EIFF: “We Have Always Lived in the Castle” (6/27/2019)
- EIFF: “Them That Follow” (6/27/2019)
- EIFF: “She’s Missing” (6/27/2019)
- EIFF: “Bodies at Rest” (6/24/2019)
- EIFF: “Yesterday” (6/24/2019)
- EIFF: “The Souvenir” (6/24/2019)
- EIFF: “Strange But True” (6/24/2019)
- “History is much bigger than I am.” – Author Harry Turtledove discusses Agent of Byzantium (6/7/2019)
- “So many people were killed to make Nero Emperor, it was kind of his destiny. He couldn’t opt out of it.” – Author Margaret George discusses The Confessions of Young Nero (4/24/2019)
- “I’m sure the circa 2008 red was distinctive because I had no expectations at all, yet it startled me.” – Author Kevin Begos discusses Tasting The Past (2/5/2019)
- “It’s too easy to depict the women as the only victims of the ambition and cruelty that pervaded the dynasty.” – Author Guy de la Bédoyère discusses Domina (1/24/2019)
- “Male relations in this period were generally more physical. For warmth as well as protection, powerful men would routinely share a bed with their underlings.” – Author Benjamin Woolley discusses The King’s Assasin (1/4/2019)
- “I’d have to go to the Ordovician, about 470 million years ago, to see giant straight-shelled cephalopods–the planet’s very first monsters, who ruled the seas long before dinosaurs evolved!” – Author Danna Staaf discusses Squid Empire (9/3/2018)
- EIFF: “Swimming With Men” (30 June ’18) (7/5/2018)
- EIFF: “Piercing” (30 June ’18) (7/5/2018)
- EIFF: “In Darkness” (28 June ’18) (7/5/2018)
- EIFF: “Hearts Beat Loud” (30 June ’18) (7/5/2018)
- EIFF: “Humor Me” (28 June ’18) (7/5/2018)
- EIFF: “The Gospel According to André” (27 June ’18) (7/4/2018)
- EIFF: “Flammable Children” (25 June ’18) (7/4/2018)
- EIFF: “Solis” (25 June ’18) (6/30/2018)
- EIFF: “The Eyes of Orson Welles” (24 June ’18) (6/29/2018)
- EIFF: “Whitney” (22 June ’18) (6/29/2018)
- EIFF: “The Most Assassinated Woman in the World” (25 June ’18) (6/29/2018)
- EIFF: “White Chamber” (22 June ’18) (6/29/2018)
- EIFF: “Papillon” (22 June ’18) (6/27/2018)
- EIFF: “Incredibles 2” (22 June’18) (6/27/2018)
- EIFF: “Cold War”, UK Premiere, 21 June ’18. (6/26/2018)
- EIFF: “Ideal Home” (Odeon 2: 21 June ’18) (6/23/2018)
- EIFF: “Calibre” (Cineworld, 22 June ’18) (6/23/2018)
- EIFF: “Puzzle” (Festival Theatre: 20 June’18) (6/23/2018)
- “Flippant answer is no guns. For an adventure story, this really makes a difference.” – Author Adrian Goldsworthy discusses Vindolanda (5/5/2018)
- “I’m thinking at this point that I may leave Russia behind for a while.” – Author William Taubman discusses Gorbachev (5/3/2018)
- “I’m not keen on speculation.” – Author James Shapiro discusses The Year of Lear (5/3/2018)
- “Be thoroughly prepared as far as the work is concerned, so you can handle the madness.” – Author Michael Mears discusses Fringe success and This Evil Thing (6/15/2017)
- “If this question is sarcastic, see my answer to Question Five.” – Author David Damant discusses The Luck of the Devil (5/19/2017)
- “I like having a central character who’s rather out of his depth among the intrigues, but with the willpower to battle through them. A just man in an unjust time, perhaps.” – Author Ian Ross discusses The Twilight of Empire IV The Mask of Command (1/17/2017)
- +3 Review Moondogs (Edinburgh International Film Festival: 17 June ’16) (8/1/2016)
- “I sensed that if I could draw solace from these two stories, then so might an audience.” – Author Mark Farrelly discusses Soho Lives (5/4/2016)
- “What’s really hard to understand is how difficult it must have been to work with Churchill.” – Author David L. Roll discusses The Hopkins Touch (3/7/2016)
- “No murderers at dinner, please, no politicians, and I think no soldiers if their talk would all be of blood and battles.” – Author Christopher Redmond discusses Lives Beyond Baker Street (3/3/2016)
- “Like Chicago, DD is stubborn, sassy, determined, and loyal to her friends.” – Author Diane Gilbert Madsen discusses The Conan Doyle Notes: The Secret of Jack the Ripper (2/23/2016)
- “The collection is the best project we’ve ever delivered and we hope to keep it going as long as possible.” – Publisher Steve Emecz discusses The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories Vol. IV (2/8/2016)
- “What does he believe? He believes in Donald Trump and, beyond that, not much at all.” – Author Michael D’Antonio discusses Never Enough: Donald Trump and the Pursuit of Success (2/1/2016)
- “Few episodes of cultural collision in Victoria’s reign were more extreme.” – Author Paul Thomas Murphy discusses Shooting Victoria (11/25/2015)
- “It took 3 years before I found the right voice.” – Author Henry Bushkin discusses Johnny Carson (11/4/2015)
- “It really should go without saying that we ought to be commemorating the occasion and not being jubilant about such carnage.” – Author Fiona Watson discusses Pocket GIANTS: Robert The Bruce (10/1/2015)
- “He wasn’t the man that I – and my entire generation – had been led to believe.” – Author Warren Kozak discusses Curtis LeMay: Strategist and Tactician (9/24/2015)
- “My aim is to write history like Bill Bryson writes travel books.” – Author Colin Brown discusses The Scum of the Earth (9/3/2015)
- “The Devils in Skirts still scare the bejesus out of the natives.” – Author Adrian Greenwood discusses Victoria’s Scottish Lion (7/25/2015)
- “No matter how well you write, you will get bad reviews.” – Author Christopher G. Nuttall discusses The Decline & Fall of the Galactic Empire novels (7/20/2015)
- “His obsession with happiness first hooked me” – Author Tim Leach discusses The Last King of Lydia Novels (7/12/2015)
- Kind of a BIG Deal – S02E04 – David & Hilary Crystal (7/6/2015)
- “We look for great contributors who tell us what we don’t already know.” – Cheryl Robson discusses Subversive Scene (6/9/2015)
- “A tapestry of viking myths” – Author Andrew Valkauskas discusses The Illuminated Edda (5/25/2015)
- Kind of a BIG Deal – S02E02 – Dr. Angela Bartie (5/19/2015)
- “An African Success Story” – Author David Hartness discusses Amani’s River (5/16/2015)
- Interview with indie author Tracey Morgan re. ‘Searching for Candy’ (2/17/2015)
- Kind of a BIG Deal – S01E06 – Philippa Langley (10/31/2014)
- Kind of a BIG Deal Interview – S01E03 – Prof. Mary Beard (10/10/2014)
- Kind of a BIG Deal Interview – S01E01 – Jung Chang (9/26/2014)
- Interview with indie flim-maker Jon Spira re. ‘Elstree 1976’ (5/11/2014)
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